This invention relates generally to a vacuum apparatus for salon and barber chairs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vacuum apparatus for attachment to a barber or to a salon chair for removal of cut hair that collects on the floor of a barber shop or a beauty shop during haircutting.
Typically, during haircutting in a beauty shop or barber shop, cut hair, tissues and other debris falls to the floor of the shop where it is allowed to accumulate until the end of the day when it is manually swept away or is hand vacuumed. This is an unhealthy and unsightly condition which may deter customers from returning to the particular shop.
No device is known such as a hose-less vacuum apparatus that readily adapts to a post of a barber chair or to a salon chair and which has a suction unit mounted on a base with a baffle and a shroud which conveniently, efficiently, sanitarily and automatically removes cut hair and debris from the shop floor during the hair cutting process without interrupting the hair cutting process and without allowing the cut hair and debris to accumulate and a vacuum apparatus which is simple in design, versatile and is easy to use.
In view of the above mentioned problems and limitations associated with hair cutting, it was recognized by the present inventor that there is an unfulfilled need for an improved cut hair removal vacuum apparatus that is mountable on a post of a chair which is simple in design, practical, fun to use and is economically manufactured.
Accordingly, it becomes clear that there is a great need for a vacuum apparatus being removably attachable to a salon and to a barber chair with no modification to the chair and one which overcomes the disadvantages associated with removing cut hair from a floor. Such a vacuum apparatus should be one that eliminates the unsanitary accumulation of fallen cut hair on the floor of a barber and a beauty shop and the need to manually sweep and vacuum it therefrom.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus for attachment to a salon or barber chair that eliminates the need to manually sweep and hand vacuum cut hair accumulated on the floor of a beauty or barber shop and one which avoids the aforementioned hair cutting problems.
It is an object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus which automatically collects floor fallen hair and debris upon operator activation of an electrical switch by directing the cut hair through a plurality of openings in a shroud and through a baffle in a base to a suction unit and collecting the cut hair in a receptacle removably attachable to the suction unit.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus which is removably attachable to a post of a salon chair and to a post of a barber chair without modification of the chairs and without interfering with the mechanical operation thereof.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus which collects cut hair in an efficient and in a sanitary manner without the need for a hose or for hose attachments.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus which has a split base having a female portion and a male portion, a suction device mounted on the base, a receptacle for collecting cut hair, a foot pedal operated electrical switch to activate a motor, a retractable power cord and a separable shroud with openings therein for receiving the cut hair and debris during operation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus which may be manufactured from readily available materials by conventional manufacturing processes.
It is a still a further object of this invention to provide a vacuum apparatus that is simple in design, simple to manufacture, low in cost and fun to use.
This invention results from the realization that there is a great need for a cut hair removal vacuum apparatus that can conveniently be adapted to be used with a conventional barber or salon chair without modification of the chair thereby allowing the vacuum apparatus to be readily retrofitted in the field to the beauty shop and salon chair without modification to the chair. The resulting invention provides a user the capability of conveniently being able to keep the beauty or barber shop clean during the hair cutting operation without the problem of cut hair accumulation.
The above and the other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention, which, according to a first aspect, provides a vacuum apparatus for collecting fallen cut hair from a floor during hair grooming. The vacuum apparatus has a base being separable and the base having a female portion and a male portion for receiving a post therebetween the portions of the base. The portions each have a baffle therein. A suction unit is mounted on the base and a shroud is removably disposed about the base. The shroud is separable and has a plurality of inlet openings throughwhich the cut hair initially passes while being directed by the baffle through the suction unit enroute to a receptacle removably disposed on the suction unit for collection and for subsequent disposal of the cut hair. There are means for maintaining the female portion and the male portion in a mating relationship about the post when both the shroud and the baffle are in contact with the floor and there are connecting means on the shroud for removably disposing the shroud about the base and about the post.
The second aspect is a special case of the first aspect of this invention with additional features. According to a second aspect of the invention the means for maintaining the female portion and the male portion in a mating relationship about the post when both the shroud and the baffle are in contact with the floor includes a sealant material chosen from the group consisting of caulk, rubber, glue and adhesive backed tape disposed between the female portion and the male portion of the base. The shroud connecting means includes a hook and a loop type fastener disposed on the shroud so that the shroud, being separable, may expand to fit over the base and the post and that the shroud may be kept in place by the connecting means.
According to a third aspect of the invention, disclosed is a method for making a vacuum apparatus for collecting fallen cut hair from a floor during hair grooming in accordance with the teachings of this invention.